Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF2629 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to human rights; establishing the Minnesota Fair Chance Access to Housing
3	3	1.3 Act; imposing penalties; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
4	4	1.4 chapter 363A.
5	5	1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
6	6	1.6 Section 1. [363A.091] MINNESOTA FAIR CHANCE ACCESS TO HOUSING ACT.
7	7	1.7 Subdivision 1.Citation.This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Minnesota
8	8	1.8Fair Chance Access to Housing Act."
9	9	1.9 Subd. 2.Preapplication.A landlord shall not print, circulate, post, mail, or otherwise
10	10	1.10cause to be published a statement, advertisement, notice, or sign that indicates that a rental
11	11	1.11application will be denied based solely or in part on an individual's criminal record. Before
12	12	1.12accepting an application fee for a rental unit, a landlord shall disclose in writing to the
13	13	1.13applicant whether the landlord's rental application screening process includes an evaluation
14	14	1.14or a consideration of the applicant's criminal record.
15	15	1.15 Subd. 3.Application stage.After the receipt of an application for a rental unit from an
16	16	1.16applicant and the payment of an application fee, if any, by that applicant, a landlord may
17	17	1.17screen the applicant to determine whether the applicant satisfies all the application criteria.
18	18	1.18Application criteria include but are not limited to income eligibility, rental history check,
19	19	1.19credit score check, pet restrictions qualification, or other application criteria. Application
20	20	1.20criteria do not include at this stage the evaluation or consideration of the applicant's criminal
21	21	1.21record.
22	22	1Section 1.
23	23	25-03710 as introduced02/26/25 REVISOR SGS/BM
24	24	SENATE
25	25	STATE OF MINNESOTA
26	26	S.F. No. 2629NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
27	27	(SENATE AUTHORS: MOHAMED)
28	28	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
29	29	Introduction and first reading03/17/2025
30	30	Referred to Judiciary and Public Safety 2.1 Subd. 4.Conditional offer.(a) A landlord must issue a conditional offer if, after
31	31	2.2screening the application, the landlord determines that the applicant satisfies all the
32	32	2.3application criteria.
33	33	2.4 (b) After the issuance of a conditional offer to an applicant, a landlord may only consider
34	34	2.5a criminal record in the applicant's history that includes any of the following:
35	35	2.6 (1) a conviction for arson or human trafficking under sections 609.281; 609.282; 609.283;
36	36	2.7609.284; 609.321; 609.322; and 609.561;
37	37	2.8 (2) whether the applicant is an individual who has been convicted of criminal sexual
38	38	2.9conduct under sections 609.342; 609.343; 609.344; 609.345; 609.3451, subdivision 3,
39	39	2.10paragraph (b); and 609.3453;
40	40	2.11 (3) is required to register as a predatory offender under section 243.166, subdivision 1b,
41	41	2.12paragraph (a), clause (1), item (iii); and
42	42	2.13 (4) any other felony conviction not listed under clauses (1) and (2) that have been
43	43	2.14adjudicated within 365 days immediately preceding the date the conditional offer was issued.
44	44	2.15 (c) A landlord may withdraw a conditional offer based solely on an applicant's criminal
45	45	2.16record if the landlord determines that the withdrawal is necessary to fulfill a substantial,
46	46	2.17legitimate, and nondiscriminatory interest. In making the determination, a landlord is required
47	47	2.18to conduct an individualized assessment of the applicant. A landlord shall:
48	48	2.19 (1) notify the applicant in writing that an individualized assessment will be conducted;
49	49	2.20 (2) provide reasonable time for the applicant to provide mitigating evidence to support
50	50	2.21the individualized assessment. Mitigating evidence may include:
51	51	2.22 (i) a written statement from a parole officer or a member of law enforcement explaining
52	52	2.23whether the applicant is rehabilitated;
53	53	2.24 (ii) documentary evidence that shows proof of employment or job readiness training;
54	54	2.25 (iii) documentation of participation in or completion of a substance use disorder treatment;
55	55	2.26and
56	56	2.27 (iv) character references from past housing providers, employers, or other members of
57	57	2.28the community;
58	58	2.29 (3) consider the following factors:
59	59	2.30 (i) the nature and severity of the criminal offense;
60	60	2.31 (ii) the age of the applicant at the time of the occurrence of the criminal offense;
61	61	2Section 1.
62	62	25-03710 as introduced02/26/25 REVISOR SGS/BM 3.1 (iii) the time that has elapsed since the occurrence of the criminal offense;
63	63	3.2 (iv) any information provided by the applicant or on the applicant's behalf about the
64	64	3.3applicant's rehabilitation and good conduct since the occurrence of the criminal offense;
65	65	3.4 (v) whether the criminal offense occurred on or was connected to a rental property that
66	66	3.5was rented or leased by the applicant; and
67	67	3.6 (vi) whether the criminal offense has a direct and specific negative impact on the safety
68	68	3.7of other individuals or property.
69	69	3.8 Subd. 5.Denials.(a) If a landlord withdraws a conditional offer, the landlord must,
70	70	3.9within 24 hours after withdrawing the conditional offer, do all of the following:
71	71	3.10 (1) send a written document by mail or email to the applicant that does the following:
72	72	3.11 (i) informs the applicant of the withdrawal of the conditional offer, including the specific
73	73	3.12reasons for the withdrawal;
74	74	3.13 (ii) informs the applicant that the applicant has the right to file a complaint with the
75	75	3.14commissioner of human rights; and
76	76	3.15 (iii) informs the applicant that within 14 days of receiving the written document notifying
77	77	3.16the applicant of the withdrawal of the conditional offer, the applicant has the right to request,
78	78	3.17in writing, a copy of all the documents that the landlord relied on in making the determination
79	79	3.18to withdraw the conditional offer; and
80	80	3.19 (2) return any application fee or holding deposit collected from the applicant.
81	81	3.20 (b) If an applicant requests a copy of the documents that the landlord relied on in making
82	82	3.21the determination to withdraw the conditional offer, the landlord shall provide the documents
83	83	3.22requested, free of charge, within ten days after receiving the request.
84	84	3.23 Subd. 6.Liability.A landlord that complies with this act is immune from liability in a
85	85	3.24civil action arising out of:
86	86	3.25 (1) the landlord's decision to rent or lease to an individual with a criminal record or who
87	87	3.26was otherwise convicted of a criminal offense; and
88	88	3.27 (2) the landlord's failure to conduct a criminal background check.
89	89	3.28 Subd. 7.Exceptions.Landlords that have less than ..... units and are owner occupied
90	90	3.29are exempt from this law.
91	91	3.30 Subd. 8.Enforcement.The commissioner of human rights shall investigate violations
92	92	3.31of this law. If violations have occurred, the commissioner may impose violations of:
93	93	3Section 1.
94	94	25-03710 as introduced02/26/25 REVISOR SGS/BM 4.1 (1) $500 per violation for building with less than ..... number of units;
95	95	4.2 (2) $1,000 per violation for building with more than ..... but less than ..... number of
96	96	4.3units; and
97	97	4.4 (3) $2,000 per violation for building with more than ..... but less than ..... number of
98	98	4.5units.
99	99	4.6 Subd. 9.Definitions.(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
100	100	4.7meanings given.
101	101	4.8 (b) "Applicant" means an individual that submits a rental application to rent or lease a
102	102	4.9rental unit.
103	103	4.10 (c) "Arrest record" means information that indicates that an individual has been
104	104	4.11questioned, apprehended, taken into custody or detention, held for investigation, arrested,
105	105	4.12charged, indicted, or tried for any felony, misdemeanor, or other offense by a law enforcement
106	106	4.13agency.
107	107	4.14 (d) "Background check report" means a report by a law enforcement agency, court,
108	108	4.15consumer reporting agency, or tenant screening agency regarding an applicant's criminal
109	109	4.16history.
110	110	4.17 (e) "Conditional offer" means a written offer to rent or lease a rental unit made by the
111	111	4.18landlord to an applicant that is contingent on a subsequent inquiry into the applicant's
112	112	4.19criminal record.
113	113	4.20 (f) "Criminal record" means information transmitted orally, in writing, or by any other
114	114	4.21means, and obtained from any source, including but not limited to the individual to whom
115	115	4.22the information pertains, a government agency, or a background check report, regarding
116	116	4.23any of the following:
117	117	4.24 (1) a conviction;
118	118	4.25 (2) an arrest record;
119	119	4.26 (3) a sealed, dismissed, or vacated conviction;
120	120	4.27 (4) an expunged, voided, or invalidated conviction;
121	121	4.28 (5) a conviction rendered inoperative by judicial action or by statute;
122	122	4.29 (6) a determination or adjudication in the juvenile justice system;
123	123	4.30 (7) a matter considered in or processed through the juvenile justice system;
124	124	4.31 (8) participation in or completion of a diversion program; and
125	125	4Section 1.
126	126	25-03710 as introduced02/26/25 REVISOR SGS/BM 5.1 (9) a deferral of a diversion program.
127	127	5.2 (g) "Deposit" means a payment requested by a landlord during the application for a
128	128	5.3rental unit to reserve a rental unit for an applicant.
129	129	5.4 (h) "Landlord" means either:
130	130	5.5 (1) the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a rental unit or the property of which it is a part;
131	131	5.6or
132	132	5.7 (2) a person authorized to exercise any aspect of the management of the premises,
133	133	5.8including a person that directly or indirectly acts as a rental agent, or receives rent, other
134	134	5.9than as a bona fide purchaser, and has no obligation to deliver the rent payments to another
135	135	5.10person.
136	136	5.11 (i) "Law enforcement agency" means the police department of a city, township, or village,
137	137	5.12the sheriff's department of a county, the department, the department of state police, or any
138	138	5.13other governmental law enforcement agency of this state.
139	139	5.14 (j) "Rental unit" means a structure or part of a structure used as a home, residence, or
140	140	5.15sleeping unit by a single person or household unit, or any grounds, or other facilities or area
141	141	5.16promised for the use of a residential tenant. Rental units include but is not limited to
142	142	5.17apartment units, boarding houses, rooming houses, mobile home spaces, and single- and
143	143	5.18two-family dwellings.
144	144	5Section 1.
145	145	25-03710 as introduced02/26/25 REVISOR SGS/BM